The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method and a program and, more particularly, to an information processing apparatus and method and a program that correctly support the easier destructive editing of content data for example.
With related-art VTRs (Video Tape Recorders), in recording content data such as image data and audio data to a tape device, which is a recording medium, only the content data is usually recorded on the tape device. Metadata such as a time code may be attached to content data; this time code is recorded along the time axis with content data on a tape device. Therefore, if content data is edited by rewriting a part thereof for example, the metadata is updated only in the part corresponding (or accompanying) the edited part of the content data.
In contrast, a technique has been recently developed in which content data such as image data and audio data is recorded in a non-linear manner onto a random-accessible recording media such as an optical disc and a hard disc (refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-29242, for example). In this technique, each piece of recorded content data is managed by a file system as a file (or a clip).
In the case of a television program made up of video and audio for example, the content data of this television program is managed as a set of a plurality of files, such as an image file, an audio file, and a metadata file. At this moment, metadata is also generated as the information for managing and reproducing these files. Namely, if content data is recorded in a non-linear manner like this, the content data is attached with many more pieces of metadata than in the case of the VTR.
Therefore, like the case of the VTR, if an editing job is executed such as rewriting content data, the contents of the metadata corresponding to the content data must also be updated so as to maintain the integrity of the files forming the content data.
With related-art technologies, in the editing of non-linearly recorded data such as above, an edit device does not update the original data to be edited, but newly generates a file that includes the information indicative of editing contents (or the information from which editing results may be derived) (this type of editing is known as non-destructive editing) (refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-29242, for example).